Reflection of the Year

This module has taught me a tremendous amount, not only in the world of digital media but in other aspects such as design and marketing. When I came up with my idea I did not know what it would entail, and I didn't anticipate having to research heavily into app design and who specifically it would target, I thought it would be more about how it would work. However I learnt that to create a successful project, there are various aspects you have to look at.

During the research part of my app development, I came across many app's which were similar to mine, but had completely different user interfaces' to each other. I used these to help me come up with what my user interface would look like and how the user would interact with my app. This was quite difficult as I haven't designed a whole new concept from the beginning before, so I had to come up with the colour schemes, font, logo and name. Even though it was quite hard to bring my concept together with some type of branding I think I achieved it quite well, I chose colours I liked and chose a name which highlighted what my app actually did. As for the user interface and experience part of my project, that slowly developed as I made each of the screens, there were certain things that I noticed which didn't work and then I had to change it on all the screens. This was tedious at first but as I kept making changes I could see the difference and it looked much better than the original I had started with.

After I had started completing screens, I started to think seriously about my concept for my animation and how I wanted to show the audience my app. I didn't want to over complicate my animation so I decided to start with a pretty simple idea and develop it as I went along. This proved to be quite helpful for me because I had all the images to animate, I just developed how I would animate each of the images. Using after effects wasn't as bad as previous experience because I was used to it now, and knew quite a few techniques. My animation was quite simple so be able to change and develop some ideas was useful as I kept thinking of new ideas each time I finished a particular screen. Of course I looked at existing app advertisements, specifically geared towards navigation as that is what my app was based around. Overall the animation part wasn't as bad as I expected it to be, I managed to do everything I wanted to do and even used some new techniques that I had learnt just to use for this app.

Some difficulties for me were in creating the screens, I was always very comfortable with using Photoshop as I have used it multiple times before. However when getting some advice from my tutor he suggested it would be best to convert my Photoshop bitmap images to vector shapes Illustrator, so that when I transferred it to AfterEffects, my rendered video would have crisp images, instead of pixelated bitmap images. This was the difficult part, even though I thought it was straight forward there were some complications when trying to convert some of the images. My logo was the most difficult I ended up making it on illustrator in the end and importing that version into AfterEffects. Once I had finished my animation it was all worth it in the end.

This task has taught me a lot, in working with particular softwares and when considering the design of something which seemed so simple. I will take everything I have learnt onto next year with me, I haven't chosen to carry on in digital media, however the skills I have now will help when creating the graphics for my TV show in my final year of University for Multicamera. 

Designs

MIT Technology Review: WifiSLAM

Whilst doing further research for my app idea, I came across this review article of a piece of technology which would be perfect for my app idea 'Find Your Way'. I spoke about possibly using Wifi to enable my app to work indoors, however I wasn't sure how this technology would work and I couldn't use NFC as Apple devices do not support this technology, which would limit my app to Android and other devices. This article explains how Wifi would work indoors to help people navigate around just using their phones.

GPS in mobile phones led to a rapid increase in location based app and services. However when you enter a building GPS often stops working, after all it is designed to help people navigate outside not indoors. What if there were apps/services that helped you navigate indoors? Using Wifi we could allow people to navigate inside various buildings, this technology has been developed and tested. Students from Stanford university founded this technology, which enables a phone to work out its position by using Wifi networks and information taken from the devices compass. However this technology is only accurate to within a 'couple of steps' says Anand Atreya, the cofounder of WiFiSLAM. He explains that this technology could be used in bigger and more complex building such as supermarkets, airports and even hospitals.
It explains the way WiFiSLAM and the device works together to find the exact location when you are stationary and when you are moving. It analyses the signal strength and unique IDs of all the Wifi networks around it, and the estimate location can be improved if the devices moves slightly allowing WiFiSLAM to gather specific information on that network and work out where you are.

http://www.technologyreview.com/news/424213/using­wi­fi­for­navigating­the­great­indoors/ 

Initial designs

Above is the first design for my loading screen, I incorporated the logo as the main feature. This is to emphasis the branding of my app, so that the audience become familiar with my logo and recognise it during the marketing part of my project. The background of my loading screen will be cream, and I am currently working on the colour blocking of my logo. As for the text in the loading screen, I want that to stand out and have chosen three creative fonts to chose from that will feature within the App.

This second sketch (above) shows what I would like my home screen to look like which is where the users will choose which function they would like to use when they first open the App. I wanted to go for a simplistic look, so that all ages would feel comfortable when interacting with it. This design allows the user to clearly see where they want to go and what feature they would like to use in the app. 

Moving on from the actual screens, I started to design my logo for my App. This is my first design, as soon as I started to think about my logo I thought about buildings, as this was the main part of my concept. I wanted buildings to really stand out so I decided to have a building skyline as the main feature of my logo. 

This logo design was more plain compared to the previous one, however I still felt the simplistic look of the App was the best choice. Having the skyline as the only feature fits in with the updated user interface of iOS 7, as it looks professional and clean.

This was the worst of the three designs, as when I showed it to my peers none of them knew exactly what it was. I tried to incorporate more of the building design into the logo, the bottom half of this design is building blueprints, however as no one recognised this I decided not to use this one.

Nextr Video Analysis

In my previous blog posts I have mentioned the Nextr app and what the main features of the app are. However I have recently been thinking about how I could showcase my app, which is similar to the Nextr app. Looking at the video, which shows viewers how to use the app, is one way I could show how my app works. In this post I am going to analyse the video and consider whether I will showcase my app in the same way.



nextr app from oberhaeuser.info on Vimeo.

This video clearly shows:

• How the app works in its ideal location, outside on the streets
• Allows the viewer to see how easy it is to operate on the go
• Shows how a person would navigate in the app
• Sets up the ideal situation to use the app 
• More appealing that it is actually being used in 'the real world' rather than graphics and static images

After carefully considering what this video actually achieves, I started to think about how I would make a video similar to this to showcase my app. If I did use this idea, I would have to create a video showing the app 'working' in software such as Adobe After-effects. This video would show various actions you would do when using the app, such as, pressing buttons, scrolling, showing the app interface and coming into and out of the app. After creating all the graphics that need to be included in my 'interacting video' the next step would be to physically 'use' it in its ideal location. To do this I would either record myself or someone else using a smartphone showing the app on it. I would simply play the interactive video on a smartphone and the person with the phone would act as if they are pressing buttons, scrolling and interacting on a basic level with the app.
I would have to plan carefully before creating my interactive video, for example choosing a building to use the app in and map out where I would go in the building and make sure my app video matches up to where I am going in the building.
A negative factor of this idea is that I would have to time the video playing out and note when to tap the screen or scroll in the app and then pressing the home button. Therefore I would have to limit my interactive video in what I could show my app doing. By limiting what I show my audience it may discourage perspective audiences with getting involved with my app.

My Proposal

Working title: Find Your Way

What is the intended idea / concept behind the proposed project?

I intend to make a app to help people navigate around specific locations, however I have decided not to use geo location. The reason I have chose to do this is because Google Maps use geo location and their maps can’t be efficiently used in buildings, your whereabouts in a building can be quite ambiguous and can confuse the user, which is why I don’t plan on using geo location in my app. My app ‘Find Your Way‘ aims to help user’s to navigate their way through buildings not to the building, for example finding your way through a large shopping centre such as Westfield can be quite difficult and time consuming. ‘Find Your Way‘ can help people get around in a specific place, saving time and not having to constantly go to the information desk to find out where a particular shop is. The concept behind this app is to be able to use technology wherever you are and find your way around a building/area, this app is designed to work for all types of people and could be further used to educate tourists. This app can also be modified to fit other buildings such as museums, public buildings, libraries and other tourist based areas.       

Describe the intended audience: 

The intended audience for my app would be between the age range of 17-40. This is a significant age range as younger audiences are more likely to connect with new technologies and apps. This would also be an adequate age range as more and more people are looking for ways to make their life easier no matter which age they are. ‘Find Your Way’ will enable a wide range of people to navigate themselves easily using their smartphones wherever they are. My intended audience would have a desire to find their own way around various buildings and use technology to do this, having this app available on all smartphones will enable a wider audience to have use of it, such as international users. 

How will this project extend your or your team’s creative and technical skills?

As I am working on my own I will have to learn how to create the interface for the programme and apply it to all phone brands such as Apple, Samsung and Android. However I will base my initial designs on the Apple smartphones and show how the interface works and how we would interact with it. Creating the interface won’t be too hard as I will be using Photoshop which I am very familiar with already, however I am not familiar with using a skin of an iPhone to display my App therefore I will be expanding my Photoshop skills further by doing this. I have been researching into how my App could work from the technical side, and I found that many android phones can use NFC, which is contactless card payment, but manipulating it to work when using a phone. Some Android phones already use NFC, which trigger’s your phone when you get into a certain area. However NFC is not supported by Apple products, therefore creating an App which is only accessible through the use of NFC may not be ideal. However we are able to use QR codes on Apple products and allow users to access the App through a website or direct them to the app. 

Outline how the practical work will be carried out by you /the group (division of labour) and the time-scales involved for each task:

As I will be working alone I will have to schedule what I will be working on step by step to complete the interface of the app. Firstly I will have to brand the app and create an App logo, then I will begin to design the interface for the smartphone. Designing the interface will be one of the main aspects of my project, I want the users to be able to see how they can interact with the app itself and what will appear on their phone when using it. After designing the interface I will be able to learn how to apply it to various buildings rather than limit it to my example, the SouthBank Centre. Once i have learnt how it works I could be able to create a semi-functioning app, however the concept itself is more important than creating a functioning App at this point. I believe that the branding will be the quickest part of the project as I have already been brainstorming ideas for the logo and colour scheme. However creating the interface will take a bit more time than the branding as i will have to make it fit into Apple’s operating software. The longest part of the project will be making and designing the interface and understanding how the mapping will work in relation to the App. 

What other work (by animators, designers, film-makers, writers, digital media producers, etc.) is relevant to your project? This work may either be relevant for its conceptual or technical similarity:

Google Maps - This is a similar product to what I want to create, although Google maps uses geo tagging, which is not what I want to use, it still has a similar concept to mine. Helping people navigate from A to B with multiple routes. So technically this product is not similar to mine but conceptually it is as both products aim to help in navigating people.

Nextr - This app was created by a German man who aimed to help people get around using public transport such as buses. The App allows you to to see nearby stops, you can also search for any stop you want with Autosuggest, which helps you find the one you want. There is a date picker button which allows you to specifically chose what day and time you want to take public transport, and a button to take you to a route home. 

Sat Nav - Satellite navigation provides geo-spatial positioning with global coverage. These systems allow people to determine their own location and how to get to the next location. They also allow the system to calculate how long the journey will take, thus giving an estimated time or arrival. 

Navigation Research

WIKIPEDIA:

Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, marine navigation, aeronautic navigation, and space navigation. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks. All navigational techniques involve locating the navigator's position compared to known locations or patterns.

Navigation, in a broader sense, can refer to any skill or study that involves the determination of position and direction. In this sense, navigation includes orienteering and pedestrian navigation.

Google Maps: Google maps is the most well-known map service online offering satellite, terrain and hybrid views, which is a combination of street maps and satellite images. Google maps is compiled by a private company called TeleAtlas and they are world leaders in navigation and location services. 

Google maps also run with google earth to coordinate satellite imagery and in updating newly developed areas which have to be updated on databases. 

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/technology-explained-google-maps-work/

Nextr: This app has been developed in Germany and is designed to help people with the use of public transport wherever they are. This app guides you through all the public transport system in Germany, it is still only available in Germany but they are working on having it available in other countries. Nextr allows you to view departure times of various transport systems, it also shows you which stations are closest to you and all the departing times at that particular station. It works pretty similar to Google maps, using your location to give you the information you need regarding transportation.